Drawer for X-ray detectors

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an X-ray detector drawer ( 1 ), into which an X-ray detector ( 3 ) can be inserted in two contrary orientations (A, B), and the X-ray detector drawer ( 1 ) has guide elements ( 5, 7 ), by which an inserted X-ray detector ( 3 ) is fixed with respect to its position and orientation. According to the invention, the X-ray detector drawer ( 1 ) has a securing device, by which an insertion of an X-ray detector ( 3 ) that is asymmetrical with respect to the two contrary orientations (A, B) can be blocked in one of these orientations (A, B). The securing device may include a blocking element ( 9, 11 ), whose position is variable automatically as a function of the removal of the X-ray detector drawer ( 1 ). The X-ray detector drawer ( 1 ) may be capable of being pulled out in two opposite directions.

The invention relates to an X-ray detector drawer inside which an X-ray detector can be placed.

In X-ray systems, X-ray detector drawers are used so that X-ray detectors can be inserted interchangeably into patient examination tables, for example. The X-ray detectors may be digital flat detectors (FDs) or portable FDs. The detectors are available in various formats and sizes and are selected for the particular application and placed in the detector drawer in the orientation required for the particular format (lengthwise, crosswise). Film sheet cassettes and memory sheet cassettes, after exposure to the X-radiation, must be replaced with unexposed cassettes; flat detectors, at least for a change of format, have to be removed and rotated between lengthwise and crosswise orientation and inserted again. The removal and reinsertion are made substantially easier by detector drawers.

The advantage of digital X-ray detectors, such as the immediate availability of image data, can be expanded by using portable detectors. These make it possible for instance to take not location fixed X-ray images, in which the detector is not located in the detector drawer but instead is held by an equipment operator against the body part to be examined. In addition, switching between lengthwise and crosswise orientations is facilitated by the ease of manipulation of portable detectors. There are many applications where a switch from one orientation to the other can be made easily by using portable detectors. The frequent changes of applications also mean that the detector has to be frequently inserted into and removed from the detector drawer.

A detector drawer for flexible use of a flat detector is disclosed in for instance from WO 01/33921. Therein, a mechanism is proposed for equipping an X-ray examination station with a digital detector and thus making a simple change of format possible.

A substantial distinction between digital detectors and analog cassettes is that electrical cords are required for supplying power and transmitting information. When detector drawers are used, there is the risk that these cords, which often have mechanically vulnerable cord connections, will be sheared off or damaged upon insertion of the drawer, for example, because of careless or improper handling. This problem arises particularly in portable detectors, which are used in frequent changes among various applications and are correspondingly frequently inserted into the drawer.

The electrical connection of digital detectors represents an asymmetrical component of the detector construction in terms of the lengthwise and crosswise orientation. The same asymmetry is correspondingly true for the handle of a portable detector. Because of this asymmetry, the result for the insertion of the detector is one orientation in which the electrical connection is positioned advantageously with regard to possible damage due to on-going use, and a converse orientation in which it is disadvantageously positioned. In practical use, the equipment operator must therefore take care to insert a digital detector in the correct orientation, which in everyday practical work is a possible source of mistakes.

The object of the invention is to create an X-ray detector drawer in which the risk of inserting an X-ray detector in the wrong orientation is precluded.

The invention attains this object by means of an X-ray detector drawer having the characteristics of the first claim.

It is a fundamental concept of the invention to disclose an X-ray detector drawer into which an X-ray detector can be inserted in at least two contrary orientations; the X-ray detector drawer has guide elements by which an inserted X-ray detector is fixed with regard to its position and orientation. The basic concept of the invention is that the X-ray detector drawer has a securing device with which an X-ray detector that is asymmetrical with regard to the two orientations can be prevented from being inserted in one of those two orientations. The resultant advantage is that an asymmetrical X-ray detector can be inserted only in an orientation predetermined by the X-ray detector drawer, so there is no need for an equipment operator to pay attention to the orientation upon insertion. This makes it easier for the operator to work with the detector drawer and allows him to focus his concentration elsewhere, such as on a patient. The invention can be used advantageously for digital X-ray detectors in particular, since the possibility that they will be inserted in an orientation that puts the electrical connection at risk can be automatically prevented.

An advantageous feature of the invention is that the securing device includes at least one blocking element, by which the insertion of a portion, which is asymmetrical with respect to at least two orientations, of the contour of an X-ray detector can be blocked. As a result, the fact that the X-ray detector itself has an asymmetrical outline is exploited in a simple way. Positioning the blocking element in a way that takes this asymmetrical outline into account is an especially easy way to prevent incorrect insertion, because the blocking element in effect gets in the way of the asymmetrical part of the outline upon insertion.

Another advantageous feature of the invention is that the position of the blocking element is automatically variable as a function of the removal, i.e., pulling out, of the X-ray detector drawer from a receptacle. As a result, a mechanism can be created which positions the blocking element as a function of the direction in which the drawer is pulled out of its receptacle, so that the blocking element is automatically adjusted to various different requirements. For example, it may be necessary for the X-ray detector to be inserted in different orientations, depending on the side from which the drawer was pulled out. However, in a further feature, positioning of the blocking element could also be done as a function of how far the drawer has been pulled out, so that for instance automatically, a different position results when the drawer has been pulled especially far out, for example for inserting a detector of lengthwise format, as opposed to a drawer not pulled as far out, in that case for insertion in crosswise format, for example.

In a further advantageous feature of the invention, the X-ray detector drawer can be pulled out in two opposed directions. As a result, it can be used for example in patient examination tables, in which the actuating device of the drawer and hence the side of the table from which the detector is to be inserted are adapted flexibly to the given application. Patient examination tables that have a drawer that can be pulled out from either side are used in radiology and urology, among other fields, or in the surgical environment in general.

In another advantageous feature of the invention, the securing device includes two blocking elements. By means of two differently positioned blocking elements, it is possible in an especially simple way to create a drawer which for two opposed directions of removal blocks, in each case, one of two possible orientations of the detector.

Further advantageous features of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims.

Below, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described in further detail in conjunction with drawings. Shown are:

FIG. 1, a schematic plan view on the X-ray detector drawer with a detector;

FIG. 2, a schematic side view of the drawer with a detector and a blocking element;

FIG. 3, a schematic side view of the detector drawer with a blocking element and with a detector blocked by the blocking element; and

FIG. 4, an X-ray system with an X-ray detector drawer.

In FIG. 1, an X-ray detector drawer 1 is shown schematically in a plan view. An X-ray detector 3 has been inserted into, that is, placed inside, the detector drawer 1. The X-ray detector 3 is a digital portable flat detector, which has a handle 4. It is supplied with electrical power via an electrical cable, which is connected in the region of the handle 4, and transmits image information via this cable.

The handle 4 and the electrical cable represent asymmetrical parts of the outline of the detector 3, with respect to the contrary orientations A and B indicated by arrows. By a rotation of 180°, the handle 4 and cable come to rest on the other side relative to the indicated orientations A, B, which is shown in the drawing by dashed lines.

The detector 3 is fixed in its position in the detector drawer 1 by guide elements 5, 7; it is moreover simultaneously fixed with respect to possible different orientations A, B. As soon as the detector 3 has been inserted, that is, placed, in the detector drawer 1, it is accordingly firmly held in the inserted position by the guide elements 5, 7.

The detector drawer 1 has a securing device, which includes two blocking elements 9, 11. It can be seen on the left in the drawing that the blocking element 11 is disposed next to the handle 4 of the inserted detector 3. Thus the blocking element 11 does not block the insertion of the handle 4, and so the detector 3 can be placed unhindered in the orientation shown in the drawing. In the orientation shown, the electrical cable comes to rest in the position shown, that is, at the bottom left in the drawing. With regard to an insertion direction of the detector drawer 1, for instance into a receptacle, in the direction away from the cable or in other words upward in the drawing, this insertion direction minimizes the risk that the cable will be sheared off.

Inserting the detector 3 in the wrong, contrary orientation, that is, with the handle 4 to the right in the drawing, is prevented by the blocking element 9 located on the right. As can be seen from the contour shown in dashed lines of the detector oriented the wrong way, in this orientation the blocking element 9 and the handle 4 come to rest exactly one above the other, and so the detector 3 rests on the blocking element 9, instead of being inserted. This arrangement prevents insertion with the wrong orientation, and under no circumstances does the electrical cable come to rest at an unfavorable location, namely at the top right in the drawing. Otherwise, if the drawer 1 were to move in the direction described above, the cable could easily become sheared off.

It can be seen that the blocking element 9 is supported in a guide 41. The same is true for the blocking element 11, but its guide 41 is thereby partly concealed by the handle 4. The position of both blocking elements can be varied as a function of the pulling out of the drawer 1. In the state shown in the drawing, the assumption is that the drawer 1 is pulled in the direction toward the cable, that is, downward. When the drawer is pulled in the other, opposite, direction, the blocking element 9 is moved automatically to the other end of the guide 41 shown, by means of a mechanism not further shown in the drawing. The same automatic movement is correspondingly true for the other blocking element 11. As a result, for the drawer pulled in the other direction, there is a different position of the two blocking elements 9, 11, which are then disposed specifically in such a way that the detector 3 can be inserted only with the opposite orientation. As a result, depending on the direction in which the drawer is pulled out, a different position results for the electrical cable, so that regardless of the direction in which the drawer 1 is pulled out, the electrical cable does not come to rest in a position in which it is at risk of being sheared off.

In FIG. 2, the detector drawer 1 is shown schematically with the detector 3 inserted, in a side view, specifically from the handle-free side of the detector 3. The detector 3 is fixed in its position and orientation by the guide elements 5. It is inserted with the correct orientation, in the sense that it comes to rest next to the blocking element 9 that is visible in the drawing and is not blocked by that blocking element.

As can be seen from preceding drawing, the blocking element 9 is supported longitudinally displaceably in a guide 41, and the guide 41 in terms of the drawing extends from right to left in the plane of the drawing and is represented by dashed lines. Underneath the drawer 1, the blocking element 9 is connected to a slide 13 which can slide it back and forth in the guide 41. The slide 13 has a driver 15, which upon displacement of the drawer 1, for instance into a receptacle, engages a corresponding slaving mechanism in the receptacle for the drawer 1. The slaving mechanism, not shown in detail, is designed such that the blocking element 9 is displaced into one or the other terminal position of the guide 41, depending on the direction in which the drawer 1 is pulled out.

In FIG. 3, the detector drawer 1 is shown with the detector oriented conversely and therefore not correctly placed. In the wrong orientation, the handle 4 rests on the blocking element 9, so that the detector 3 cannot be inserted correctly into the drawer 1.

The position of the blocking element 9 on the other end of the guide 41 shown in dashed lines is also shown in dashed lines in the drawing. On the assumption that in the state shown in the drawing, the drawer 1 was pulled out of its receptacle toward the left, the position shown in dashed lines would be established by pulling the drawing out of its receptacle in the opposite direction, that is, to the right. In the position shown in dashed lines, the blocking element 9 would no longer block the handle 4. Thus, into the drawer 1 which has been pulled out in the opposite direction, the detector 3 could be inserted only in what is in turn an opposite orientation to that, without being blocked. It is thus assured that the cable of the detector 3, even with the drawer pulled out in that direction, would come to rest such that it would be away from the receptacle of the drawer and therefore would not be unnecessarily sheared off or pulled on when the drawer is inserted again.

In FIG. 4, an X-ray system with a detector drawer 1 is shown. The detector drawer 1 is located in a receptacle 31 of a patient examination table 29. From the patient examination table 29, the detector drawer 1 can be pulled out of the receptacle 31 in both directions, that is, both to the right and to the left in the drawing, for removal or insertion of the detector; in the drawing, only the right-hand side is visible.

An X-ray emitter 35 secured to a ceiling mount 33 is located above the patient examination table 29. By means of the X-ray emitter, a patient lying on the patient examination table 29 can be X-rayed, so that the X-ray detector placed underneath the table in the detector drawer 1 is exposed.

Pulling the detector drawer 1 out of the receptacle 31 in one direction or the other causes the slaving mechanism, referred to in the description of the preceding drawings, to move the blocking elements 9, 11, also described above, into the respective terminal positions of their guides 41. As a result, a detector of the kind described above can be inserted automatically in only one at a time of the two possible orientations, depending on the side of the patient examination table 29 on which the drawer 1 is located at that time. The particular possible orientation is selected such that shearing off of the electrical cable of the X-ray detector as the drawer is pushed into the receptacle 31 is prevented. 

1. An X-ray detector drawer into which an X-ray detector is insertable in one of at least two alternate orientations, the X-ray detector drawer comprising: a plurality of guide elements by which an inserted X-ray detector is fixedly positioned and oriented; and a securing device by which an asymmetrical insertion of the X-ray detector with respect to either one of two of the at least two alternate orientations is hindered.
 2. The X-ray detector drawer of claim 1, wherein the securing device includes at least one blocking element by which the insertion of a portion of a contour of an X-ray detector is hindered, the portion of the contour of the X-ray detector being asymmetrical with respect to the two alternate orientations.
 3. The X-ray detector drawer of claim 1, wherein a position of the securing device is altered as a function of a removal of the X-ray detector drawer from a receptacle.
 4. The X-ray detector drawer of claim 2, wherein a position of the at least one blocking element is altered as a function of a removal of the X-ray detector drawer from a receptacle.
 5. The X-ray detector drawer of claim 4, wherein the receptacle is configured to facilitate a removal the X-ray detector drawer from either of two opposite directions.
 6. The X-ray detector drawer of claim 1, wherein the securing device includes two blocking elements.
 7. The X-ray detector drawer of claim 2, wherein the at least one blocking elements is displaceable into one of two predetermined positions as a function of the direction in which the X-ray detector drawer is pulled out of a receptacle.
 8. The X-ray detector drawer of claim 5, wherein the two blocking elements are each displaceable into one of two predetermined positions as a function of the direction in which the X-ray detector drawer is pulled out of a receptacle.
 9. A patient examination table having a receptacle into which an X-ray detector drawer is insertable, the patient examination table comprising: the X-ray detector drawer into which an X-ray detector is insertable in one of two alternate orientations; a plurality of guide elements by which an inserted X-ray detector is fixedly positioned and oriented; and a securing device by which an asymmetrical insertion of the X-ray detector with respect to either one of the two alternate orientations is hindered.
 10. The patient examination table of claim 9, wherein the securing device includes at least one blocking element by which the insertion of a portion of a contour of the X-ray detector is hindered, the portion of the contour of the X-ray detector being asymmetrical with respect to the two alternate orientations.
 11. The patient examination table of claim 10, wherein a position of the at least one blocking element is automatically altered as a function of a removal of the X-ray detector drawer from a receptacle.
 12. The patient examination table of claim 11, wherein the receptacle is configured to facilitate a removal the X-ray detector drawer from either of two opposite directions.
 13. The patient examination table of claim 9, wherein the securing device includes two blocking elements.
 14. The X-ray detector drawer of claim 10, wherein the at least one blocking elements is displaceable into one of two predetermined positions as a function of the direction in which the X-ray detector drawer is pulled out of a receptacle.
 15. The X-ray detector drawer of claim 12, wherein two blocking elements are each displaceable into one of two predetermined positions as a function of the direction in which the X-ray detector drawer is pulled out of a receptacle
 16. An X-ray system comprising: a patient examination table having a receptacle into which an X-ray detector drawer is insertable, the X-ray detector insertable in one of two alternate orientations; a plurality of guide elements by which an inserted X-ray detector is fixedly positioned and oriented; and a securing device by which an asymmetrical insertion of the X-ray detector with respect to either one of the two alternate orientations is hindered.
 17. The X-ray system of claim 16, wherein the securing device includes at least one blocking element by which the insertion of a portion of a contour of the X-ray detector is hindered, the portion of the contour of an X-ray detector being asymmetrical with respect to the two alternate orientations.
 18. The X-ray system of claim 17, wherein a position of the at least one blocking element is automatically altered as a function of a removal of the X-ray detector drawer from a receptacle.
 19. The X-ray system of claim 18, wherein the receptacle is configured to facilitate a removal the X-ray detector drawer from either of two opposite directions.
 20. The X-ray detector drawer of claim 16, wherein at least one blocking elements is displaceable into one of two predetermined positions as a function of the direction in which the X-ray detector drawer is pulled out of the receptacle. 